Forte di Vinadio

The Fort, known as Forte Albertino, is located in the Stura valley, not far from the municipality of Demonte. A venue for cultural events, the fort is much visited by tourists and included in Piedmont's "Castelli Aperti" (Open Castles) programme. The Forte di Vinadio was built as a fortress in 1834 at the wish of Charles Albert of Savoy. It holds a strategic position: from the fort the valleys bordering France were controlled. The fort should be considered among the most imposing constructions of the Alpine arc. Italian and French. The walls are about 1200 metres long and the walkways reach a length of about 10 km. In 11 years a masterpiece of military engineering was completed, divided into three fronts: the Attack Front, the Lower Front and the Upper Front. The fort was not marked by important wartime events and was later even used as a prison.

During the Second World War it was bombed by Anglo-American troops and was subsequently abandoned. After many years some associations took over the Fort in order to turn it into a tourist destination, both as a fort in itself, with guided tours inside it, and as a place to create events or exhibitions about the mountains and valleys, the fort itself and the surrounding populations. It currently hosts an exhibition entitled: Montagna in movimento (Mountain in Motion, 2008), an interactive multimedia exhibition about the mountains and the fort in wartime. Inside, the fort is bare and plain but rich in fortifications, re-enactments and memories. The construction is imposing and climbs up the mountainside with its walls and its sheer size.

Driving along the road in both directions: France and Cuneo, the Fort is visible and straddles the road, spreading from one side to the other across the valley. For visits there are classic guided tours inside, exhibition visits when they are set up, and a summer calendar of events. Inside there are 2 refreshment points and a green park, a picnic area, for families and relaxation. There are several very large car parks. The ticket office is inside the fort and the entrance costs depend on the type of activity you want to enjoy, between visits and events. In the surroundings there are excellent restaurants, hotels and the Vinadio thermal baths, as well as the very nearby Colle della Maddalena, for crossing into France. The Fort is certainly worth a Sunday visit. The visit lasts about two hours; set in a beautiful green valley near Vinadio and Demonte, it stands high in the mountains.

My visit took a whole afternoon at a cost of 8 euro, as we did the tour of the interactive multimedia exhibition "montagna in movimento" inside the Fort, a very interesting and innovative exhibition. The Fort is huge, plain inside but very scenic outside; it spreads from one side to the other of the state road that leads to Cuneo and into France. At the entrance there is a small bar with a refreshment area, toilets, restaurant and summer terrace; from the first inner courtyard the view is very beautiful, among arches, bridges, huge wooden entrance doors, walls and stone buildings it is evocative and certainly very touristy for its historical value. The fort shows no obvious signs of bombing and has been stripped of everything that was inside.

The internal visit is interesting, the place is a little gloomy, among stone corridors and arrow slits in the walls from which shots were fired to defend the front. The exhibition currently on view is really unusual: stories and projections, installations and multimedia information about the place and the wartime periods; the installation is well curated, the exhibition interesting and worth two hours of visiting. Picturesque but plain corners, and after all we are in a place of war, a place of combat, and there are no beauties other than the landscapes you can see on the mountains and in the valleys. The lower part is also very beautiful, where the gardens now stand alongside. In one of the large inner courtyards the Italian Bocce championships are held. The Fort welcomes many tourists, especially at weekends and on fine sunny days.

You can take a mountain-bike or walking route through the low moats of the fort, where some horses are also bred and kept. All around, greenery and rock; the place lends itself well to photography. Now in the surroundings some houses and buildings have sprung up that in my view spoil the setting a little. At the exit you can also admire a beautiful church, mountain houses and some bars and venues in the mountain town centre.